


Maid out in Lavender

by YellowJewl



Category: Fire - Fandom, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Abyss - Freeform, Angst, Byleth can't read, Byleth is a maid, Byleth is not a teacher, F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fluff, Jeralt Eisner is a Good Dad, Not Canon Compliant, Selective Mute Byleth, ashen wolves, no beta we die like Glenn, sorry that DLC outfit was too cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:53:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24429775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowJewl/pseuds/YellowJewl
Summary: And just like that, the daughter of the Blade Breaker, the fearsome Ashen Demon, Byleth Eisner became Garreg Mach's newest maid.In a world where Byleth never accepted the teaching position, she instead is forced to become a servant.(But let's face it, in the game she  spent a good amount of time finding the crap those kids left lying around anyways. Those nobles should really take better care of their stuff)Luckily though she's found a much more enjoyable way to spend her time, like punching out bandits in the catacombs beneath the monastery, known as Abyss
Relationships: Linhardt von Hevring/My Unit | Byleth, Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 30
Kudos: 73





	1. Great Tree Moon

Byleth shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other. Today was anything but normal. From fighting alongside three noble children to defeat a group of bandits, to finding out that her father was apparently the former captain of the Knights of Seiros, a religion she has never heard of. And oh, let's not forget the fact that the young sleeping girl, who she has had dreams about for just about her whole life, had suddenly awoken to give her the ability to turn back time.

It was all so strange, one second she's jumping in front of an axe to protect that white haired girl with the lilac eyes and she can feel the sharp edge of the weapon begin to tear through her flesh and then nothing.  
Just a pulse rushing through her entire body and the world around her.  
And then she's met with the nagging voice of that once slumbering little girl with the verdant green hair and eyes of emerald

Honestly, what are you accomplishing with that little stunt?” The green haired girl scowled at her from her green stone throne. “It’s like you’re trying to get me killed, you fool!”

“Well, it’s fine.” The girl said, sighing. “After all, if you don’t know the value of your own life, you’re not going to protect it very well, are you?”

Byleth hesitated, it was strange enough to see her awake in her dream but to be having such a delusion at a time like this. Maybe she is already dead and this is just what hell looks like. 

“Course not.” The girl said giggling and clapping her hands together before continuing. “Well then, I guess it’s up to me to guide you from now on. Right?” 

The girl finally stood from her resting place,“You can call me Sothis. But I’m also known as ‘The Beginning’.” she halted as if the words she spoke were as odd to her as they were to Byleth.

“Hmm...Sothis…” the girl said, sitting down once more, “Yes, that is it. My name is Sothis. And I am also called ‘The Beginning’. But who was it who once called me that?”

“Sothis?” Byleth echoed, growing more confused by the second. Sothis’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the question. 

“I was not able to recall my name until just now.” She answered. “And just like that it came to me. How odd!”

Byleth's brows furrowed in confusion, why was this amnesiac lecturing her when she couldn't even recall her I name? 

Sothis' eyes flicker towards the dark blue haired girl, finally noticing the look that graced the girl's features “That look upon your face. Did you think me a child? A mere child who forgot her own name?!” She snapped, obviously offended “Phooey! That ‘child’ just saved your life! And what does that make you?”

“I’m… less than a child?” Byleth offered, hesitation heavy on her tongue.

"Correct! You understand." Sothis smiled pleased by the answer. "You threw yourself before an axe to save just one young girl. Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened."

"Thank you" Byleth says bowing slightly, unsure of exactly what to say to this individual who claimed to have saved her life.

This brought a smile to the young green haired girl's face, "There now. Is gratitude so much to ask? I did deem you worth saving, after all. Though it is only momentary, time has stopped. However did I manage that?..." She begins to trail off.

"...What now?" Byleth wonders aloud

Sothis' attention snaps back to her as she nods, "when time begins again, the axe will tear into your flesh, and you will surely meet your end."

Byleth flinches at the thought. She wasn't ready to die yet. She couldn't just die and leave father. She still had too many battles to fight, and quite a bit of bar tabs she needed to pay off for her father.

"Oh, How rude of you to drag me into this!" The amnesiac spats, utterly exasperated, totally apathetic towards Byleth's feelings on the matter. "Now what to do…"

As the young green haired girl thought about her next course of action, Byleth began to ponder what she would do if she was a magical being with the power over time, living in a young womans, " … Turn back the hands of time?...", She offers

"Of course!I must turn back the hand of time!" She declares. She then closes her eyes and odd symbols made of light seem to manifest out of thin air, "Yes… I do believe it can be done. You really are quite troublesome. I cannot wind back time too far, but all is well. You are aware of what's to come, which means you can protect yourself this time. Now go! Yes, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek…"

And just like that she was back to the moment in time when the bandit leader had jumped to his feet and rushed towards the white haired girl, prepared to strike her down. But, Byleth was faster this time, deflecting the attack with her blade.

She didn't know that she had saved an imperial princess. Or that the other two boys she'd been fighting beside were a future king and a sovereign duke.  
She definitely didn't know that all of this would bring her and father to the monastery. Placing her before this woman who called herself the archbishop of a church that her father had never told her even existed.

Byleth takes a chance and allows her cobalt blue eyes to make contact with lady Rhea's icy green ones. It wasn't that the archbishop was cold, in fact the way she held herself was as if she was trying to exude a warmth that reached over all of Fodlan.  
In actuality it was her father's words that made the Archbishop's actions seem so frigid. You're reminded of the conversation that had transpired the day earlier,

"It's been years since I last set eyes on this place. To be forced to see her now…"

"Her?" Byleth had questioned her father

"You saw her in the courtyard earlier, didn't you? The Archbishop… Lady Rhea."

The young blue haired woman had scrunched up her nose in confusion, "The archbishop?"

"As you know, the majority of folks in Fodlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros. The leader of that ridiculously large religious organization is the archbishop, Lady Rhea."

The young mercenary begins to zone out. It was strange hearing her father talk about the church so casually. It was normally a topic that he was very tight lipped about. She delved so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed said Archbishop walk in, accompanied by who Byleth assumed to be some kind of handler or other high ranking member of the church. She wasn't quite sure how all this church stuff worked.

She realizes now that Lady Rhea must have asked her name or something because she now looks expectantly at Byleth.

The young mercenary bites her lip, as she feels her throat clam up. She had always found it incredibly difficult to speak to others off the battlefield. She only really spoke to her father, Jeralt, and even he was very understanding when it came to his daughter's silence.

"You must at least show the basic courtesy of telling us your name! Do you not think you are being a bit rude to the archbishop?" The dark green haired man snaps

"It is alright, Seteth. My dear, I am called Rhea. I am the archbishop of the church of Seiros. In truth I was only being polite. I already know your name. And a fine name it is. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for saving those students of the Officers Academy." The archbishop says

"Hmph." You hear your father huff from beside you

"Jeralt, you already know what it is I wish to say, do you not?" Rhea says turning towards your father.

"You want me to rejoin the knights of Seiros, don't you. I won't say no, but…"

Your apprehension stings. I had expected Alois would have already asked this of you. I must step away for now, but I expect they will desire a word with you soon. Please listen carefully to what they have to say. Until tomorrow… farewell."

Father lets out a deep sigh, "I can't believe it. Forced back into the Knights of Seiros. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Looks like I'll be stuck here for a while… and I'm afraid your services are requested as well."

She had to… work here? "As a mercenary?" Why else would they want her?

"Nothing like that. They want you to teach by the sound of it. You hear those brats earlier talking about the officers academy, right? Well the academy just happens to be short a professor. Apparently that damned Alois went and recommended you to Lady Rhea." Her father tells her almost causing her to double take, though no one would ever be able to tell due to the ever expressionless mask she wore

"You know I- I can't do that…" she says

He knows why she can't. And she can almost see a hint of guilt flash across her father's eyes before his face settles on a stern smile instead as he pats his daughter on the back

"Hey kid, it's going to be just fine. And… watch out for Lady Rhea. I don't know what she's thinking, asking you to be a professor like this. She may be up to something. Stay on your guard."

"N-no thank you." Her hoarse voice manages out. 

"I'm sorry, What was that?" The Archbishop turns to her

"I don't... wanna teach."

You feel your father's hand on your shoulder, letting you know that it's okay to make this decision.

Rhea's mint green eyes settle on you for a second before she continues to speak, "I suppose I can not force you. But it is rather unfortunate… Anyhow you must pull your weight around here as it were, we are giving you and your father lodging after all."

"The kid can just be a knight. I'll watch her. Not like I need to, you already know she's more than capable." Jeralt offers

Seteth shakes his head as if the mere idea would be laughable if he had such a base sense of humor. "You of all people Jeralt should know that one cannot simply become a knight on a whim. If they truly do not wish to take the Archbishop up on her offer then, they should be perfectly content taking a servant position in the church's stead. Many who take refuge in the monastery, do their part by helping out around the premises. You do not have any problem doing the same, do you?"

Byleth's eyes stare Seteth down dangerously. But The Man holds her gaze. Rather impressively, really. Not many people can stare down the Ashen Demon and not walk away shaking in their boots. Was Seteth's impression of her misconstrued? Did he see her as a timid child because of her lack of speech and reluctance to accept the position the Archbishop had offered her? Was he not aware of the cold blooded killer who stood before him, the mercenary who cut down her foes with neither a smile on her face nor a frown? It didn't matter really, Seteth's gaze was baiting her, he wanted to draw out a reaction from the apathetic girl, make her have an outburst and openly refuse such an offer as being a servant.

But Byleth wouldn't give him that.

Without breaking her gaze she gives a curt nod and finally gives her answer, "whatever."

And just like that, the daughter of the Blade Breaker, the fearsome Ashen Demon, Byleth Eisner became Garreg Mach's newest maid.


	2. Great Tree Moon (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy looks over her with a look of something new. A look much akin to byleth's own face when she tried to decipher the words on the cover of the book just minutes prior. Then, he looks amused. "Are you, um, trying to figure out where this goes?"
> 
> She nods in response

Byleth had never really had the chance to spend time with those her own age before. The opportunity rarely presented itself when her, her father, and their band of mercenaries were always on the road. She can almost remember an instance when she was a small child and Jeralt had encouraged her to go play with some of the other children in the village they were staying in at the time.

A group of, maybe three, boys that looked around her age had been playing with a ball, kicking it to each other.

The young Byleth, not one for words, simply stood to the side and watched, waiting for them to approach her to ask her to play. They didn't.

But she was steadfast and stood in wait anyhow.

A stray kick had sent the ball flyIng towards her. Now was her chance. She ran towards the ball and kicked it as hard as she could. The three boys watched as the ball soared in the air until finally touching down on the old tin roof of someone's house

She hears one of the boys groan as another stalks up to her angrily, "Hey! What the hell!? You did that on purpose!"

No she didn't. She just wanted to do what they were doing. She didn't mean to lose the ball. She hurriedly shakes her head no.

"Well it's gone now, Micah. Nothing we can do now about it." The third boy tells his angry friend. 

"M-me." Byleth says as she begins racing off towards the tin roofed house. She tosses a look over her shoulder to signal from the boys to follow. Once she reached the house, the small girl looked around for something that could give her a boost so she could get to the roof. After Looking around for a bit, she settled on two bales of hay and began stacking them atop one another. 

When she began to scale up her tower of straw, she could hear the confused mutterings of the boys behind her, "what is she doing?" Once she reached the top of the bales she jumped up to grasp onto the gutter. Her small fingers cling to the side of the house as she uses her upper body strength to lift herself up to clammer onto the roof. She then grabs the ball and tosses it down to the boys below her.

"Wow, thanks." One of the boys says as Byleth hopped down from the roof of the house. She slightly winces at the impact of her foot colliding with the ground. But other than that, she shows no other signs of discomfort. "I'm Lev. What's your name?"

"By-weh" she immediately winces at her own pronunciation. It wasn't supposed to come out like that. She's still having a lot of trouble pronouncing her Ss, Ls, and THs. 

"Thanks again Byweh, we actually thought you were a heartless bully for a moment there." The kid says.

Byleth's eyes widened and she grasps the boy's hand as she places it to her chest, proudly. The boy's eyes widen in confusion before narrowing.

He turns back to his friends, a scowl on his face, "no heartbeat."

"What no way!? Lemme see!"

"What the hell!? What a freak!"

"Gross, how's it even alive!?"

"It's a monster!"

Monster!

Demon!

Heartless Freak!

Limping back to camp, the young girl's face still held no emotion, even now. But, while acceptance had already encapsulated the child, her Father was a different story. Worry flashed across his features as he saw the bruised girl walk towards him as if nothing was the matter, only the small limp from her left leg betraying her.

"Kid!? What happened? You look beat to shit." The Blade Breaker said picking her up.

With the stoic expression, never leaving her face, Byleth only mumbled, "Monner" as she pointed to herself.

"Monner? Wha- oh…" the realization hit Jeralt like a truck as a frown settled on his lips. "Nah kid, you're no Monster. Those  _ brats _ are the monsters. Trust me, you don't need people like them." 

Maybe she didn't need people at all...

**"Wow, your self deprecation truly knows no bounds."** Sothis says to Byleth as she sweeps the floor of the monastery library.  **"Simply because of a few bad experiences, you're willing to push away every human being we cross paths with!?"**

_ I'm not pushing anyone away,  _ Byleth thinks to the bratty green haired girl

**"Well you are not actively reaching out to others either. I swear, if I had a body of my own, oh the things I'd do. I'd talk, dance, sing"** Byleth rolls her eyes.  **" Fine, behave like that if you wish. Try to ignore those all around you. But know this, try as you might, you can never ignore me. You ought to know that I am always with you now. To hear my voice should not come as a shock."**

The young woman simply shakes her head and walks away towards the opposite corner of the library, hoping to get away from the girl's nagging.

  
  


"Ah, miss Eisner." A voice calls out to her. She turns to find the older gentleman who had greeted her when she had first entered the library. Tomas, she believes. "I hear you are lacking in knowledge of the church of Seiros. The library contains countless documents about the teaching and the history of the church. I encourage you to make good use of them. But for now, can you be a dear and put up these books here, they were just returned." Tomas says, gesturing to a cart of tomes.

Byleth nods and the old man leaves her to her work. But, it isn't until she picks up the first book that she realizes that she has no idea where it even goes, let alone what it even says.

**"Utterly unbelievable! Here, let me have a look at that."** Sothis says floating over her shoulder,  **"This is absolutely ridiculous, not even I can decipher these strange markings"** huh, so Sothis can't read either? Is it because she was just a figment of Byleth's imagination?  **"No I'm not! Ugh, listen. We're obviously not going to get anywhere by merely staring at these books all day. Just go ask for assistance."**

The mercenary's blue eyes flitted about the room but they were unable to find Tomas. Did he go on break or lunch? Where was he? 

**"Ooh! There!"** _ You've found Tomas?  _ **"No, but there's a student here, surely he can assist you."**

She takes a tentative step towards the direction Sothis was pointing. Surely enough, sitting at a desk was a student from the academy. His hair, long and tied back, a dark green, it reminded her of Faerghus pine trees. It isn't until she nears closer that she realizes that he's asleep.

**"No matter. Just wake him up so we can finally be through with your menial chores"** _ Weren't you the one who said that it was rude to interrupt a moment of repose? _ **"Do not sass me! Now wake him, or do you truly wish to stand there like a lone, long dead stump in a forest, refusing to grow!?"** _... Fine. _

Reaching out a hand and resting it on his shoulder, she can feel the fabric of his uniform. The black twill material beneath her fingers feels soft, cloth much nicer than her mercenary garb and even the crisp servant attire that was gifted to her by the church. Her eyes flicker to his face once more. It also looked soft, his pale complection unblemished, not a scar nor scratch that would suggest battle. This kid is a noble for sure. She gives his shoulder a shove as she tries to shake him awake as gently as she can.

He shoots up awake and Byleth catches sight of his eyes. They're a brilliant cobalt blue. Deep as the sea and vibrant, framed by his pine green locks. Sadly, the wake fades from his eyes as he closes them in annoyance and lets out a yawn, "I'm sorry but can I help you?"

What was she even supposed to say? Like, 'hello! I know that I don't know you, and you don't know me but I can't read a lick of Fodlanese but for some reason have foolishly accepted the task to put away these books. So I figured that since you're the only other person around and surrounded by books, that you can surely help.' … This was all a big mistake. Maybe she should have just accepted the teaching position. Then, at least she wouldn't be stuck in this stupid maids outfit.

**"Will you cease with whining and just answer him already!"**

"Please help." Are the only words that manage to spill forth from her mouth as she holds out the book in her hands towards him.

He looked shocked at her small outburst and hesitantly took the book from her before slipping back into a lazy demeanor and reads the cover of the book. "Ah.  _ The Four Saints Revealed _ . I don't believe I've read this one yet, but it looks like a good read. What's the matter?"

Unable to bring her thoughts to words, she turns to gesture to the books and then across the library, giving a small shrug. The boy looks over her with a look of something new. A look much akin to byleth's own face when she tried to decipher the words on the cover of the book just minutes prior. Then, he looks amused. "Are you, um, trying to figure out where this goes?"

She nods in response.

Standing up from his seat he walks over to a shelf, "Hmmm. Well, titles concerning the saints would normally go here. And…" his finger traced the spines of the tomes in front of him, "and this book in particular, should go here. See, if you were to follow the alphabetical order of the author." He paused as he turned back to her. The maid was already holding a second book out towards him. That's when he noticed the cart of books behind her. 

"You're not serious are you?" He asks with a laugh. Her eyes alone answer his question. Of course she was, her stare didn't show a hint of amusement and certainly didn't show any hint of her request being a jest. And yet, the young noble found it funny. "Hmmm… let's see. Ah, a cookbook. This should go… over there." He says as he starts walking. He tosses a look over his shoulder. "Well, aren't you coming? Go ahead and just bring the cart with you. It'll be faster if you just hand the books to me."

  
  


\---

  
  


"Well that was exhausting." The green haired student yawns, "I think it's time for a well deserved nap."

"Thank you." She tells him.

"Oh. Um, you're welcome." He almost sounds a bit caught off guard before a small smirk lands on his lips as he waves her comment away, "just tell Tomas that you can't read next time and we'll be even."

Her eyes widen at his words before narrowing. She hadn't told him that. In fact, she's barely said three words to him. How in the world did he even find that out?

"Don't act surprised now. It wasn't that hard to discern. Besides, quite a bit of commoners are illiterate, including quite a few who work at the monastery."

She didn't say anything. He's right, it's not like it was a big deal. Maybe she's just more bothered by the fact that it's suddenly become a hindrance to her everyday life.

"That being said, I did find a lot more riveting titles, so I guess this wasn't an entire waste of time… this was interesting…"He says. It takes Byleth a bit to notice that his sleepy eyes are looking at her expectantly. Is he waiting for her name?

"Byleth." She answers.

"Linhardt. Good-bye."

  
  


\----

  
  


After changing out of that stuffy maid's uniform, Byleth flops down onto her bed back in her dorm. For some reason, she was given one of the spare student's rooms instead of sleeping in the servant's quarters. She suspected that this may have been Rhea's doing, mainly because of the glare she had received from Seteth upon hearing this news. It wasn't as if she was complaining but, this had made her that much more skeptical of the archbishop. What exactly was her game?

As she begins to drift off to sleep, she's interrupted by the sounds of footsteps outside her door. Sleep had never come easily to Byleth. She attributed it to being raised as a mercenary, always having to be on guard, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

It's the sound of barrels and crates being knocked over that makes her jump into her mercenary hard and grab her iron sword. 

Making her way outside, she sees that the barrels and crates were put up how they were before but she can still hear distant footsteps clicking against the cobblestone ground. She begins to give chase, rounding the corner she can see a shifty looking man pulling a small cart behind him. A merchant? What's he doing skulking around the dorms at this time of night?

Always a master of stealth, it isn't until she's right behind him with her blade pressed snuggly against his jugular, that he notices her.

"Hey- um, I don't- Oh Goddess, I don't want any trouble! Please I-" 

She found his sputtering more irritating than the fact that he may have been doing something undesirable whilst stalking around the academy at this hour.

She moves the blade ever so softly so that it Knicks his throat as she breathes into his ear, "talk."

The shifty merchant, practically shaking in his trousers, let's out a pained whine as he begins to do as she says, "I- I'm just a merchant selling my wares. I swear. I swear. I was only heading to Abyss to sell my wares, I promise."

"Abyss?" She hisses the question. What the hell was Abyss?

"Abyss. The uh- underground city beneath Garreg Mach, you know home for the undesirable types." He cries.

Abyss? A city beneath Garreg Mach? She's never heard of such a thing. Though, she figures with this merchant skulking around in the dead of night, it must be a closely guarded secret.

"Take me." She barks as she pulls away her sword and sheaths it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, we gonna see abyss soon!  
> If you want to chat and hang, come join my discord  
> https://discord.gg/8XjKn5m


	3. Great Tree Moon (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and Assassins walked the streets much like any commoner would back above but, their hands always rested close to their weapons, ready for battle at a moment's notice. The Merchants were shifty, nothing like the ones she had seen near Garreg Mach, they were pushy, seedy, and their product was most likely bootlegged and stolen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Abyss, ignore the smell and FYI, I wouldn't recommend leaving your weapons at the door.

It smells. It smells like rain water on a hot day. Which is ironic because of how chilly it is down in Abyss. Being underground, the area was most likely intended to be a sewer at one point in time but now children run through the makeshift streets of the underground, women hang their laundry out to dry from the windows of their homes that have been carved out of the stone walls of the sewers, even merchants fill the streets with their wares. If Byleth didn't know any better she would have thought this a regular town.

But it wasn't. The children's eyes wandered just as much as their hands did, quick, hoping to pick the pockets of this strange newcomer. Rogues and Assassins walked the streets much like any commoner would back above but, their hands always rested close to their weapons, ready for battle at a moment's notice. The Merchants were shifty, nothing like the ones she had seen near Garreg Mach, they were pushy, seedy, and their product was most likely bootlegged and stolen.

Byleth kept to the main street. She was alone, and as much as she hated to admit it, that left her vulnerable. No one knew she was down here and if she ventured too far away from the crowd, there was no telling if these unsavory types would gang up on her.

But then the sound of music caught her ears. And soon enough her gaze did follow. Off the main street and up the stairway. A tavern perhaps? She did hear the boisterous voices of folks coming from that direction.

Curiosity had never been a driving factor in Byleth's life. As a person who has taken everything at face value for most her life, she has found no reason for something as trivial as questions. And yet, since arriving at the monastery, she cannot shake this feeling that there is so much that she still does not know. So, she decides that just this once, as she climbs the steps towards the sound of music, she'll give into the base desire that is curiosity.

The Wilting Rose Inn. Byleth had been in a few less than savory bars before. Mostly to fish her father out of them before he takes up too high of a tab that would get them permanently blacklisted from the area. Despite being unsure of her own age, she was no stranger to the drink but rarely ever found the opportunity to truly indulge, preferring to be the one who was always on guard whilst traveling as a mercenary. Tonight was no different, she reminded herself, she must stay on guard.

Tables litter the inn's bar. Men of all kinds scattered across the establishment mercs to rouge's, she believes that she even spots two almyrans, in the back huddled in a booth, who give her the side eye as she walks in. In the table closest to the entrance she sees a group of men playing cards.

The table seems rather jovial as two older men laugh as another man dressed in brawler garb throws his cards down in defeat as the young man at the other end of the table raking in his winnings. The winner is broad shouldered and his chest exposed by his unbuttoned uniform that was all too familiar despite the discoloration. And yet, his sideburns and chiseled jaw told her that he was far too old to be a student of any kind.

"Well? Did you come over here just to stare at my rippling abs, or did you want something?" The young man barks without turning to look at her. Once he does, his eyes widen a bit before a smug smirk spreads across his face,"A real knockout, aren't I? Go ahead, look, take your fill. This  _ is _ the face that drives the ladies wild, heh" he says as he kicks back in his chair a bit so he can flex and show off a bit more of his chest.

Byleth doesn't give much of a reaction besides the flickering of her eyes back towards the cards on the table.

"Eyy little lady, did ya wanna try your luck? Go right ahead, if you got coin that is." One of the older men told her, he had kind eyes but a large scar that inhabited most of his face. She's never played cards before, she remembers a bit of Go Fish when she was a child but she would bet that they are definitely not playing that

"I don't know how…" she mumbles

"Gonna play blackjack. It's real easy. Sit down, I'll show ya. The goal of blackjack is to beat the dealer's hand without going over 21." Old Scarface says as he begins shuffling cards. Byleth complys and sits. "Face cards are worth 10. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever makes a better hand. Each player starts with two cards, one of the dealer's cards is hidden until the end. To 'Hit' is to ask for another card. To 'Stand' is to hold your total and end your turn.If you go over 21 you bust, and the dealer wins regardless of the dealer's hand."

Sounded easy enough. Byleth may not have been able to read a lick of Fodlanese but counting came real easy to her. Had to, it was vital on the battlefield. She watched as Scarface delt out cards to everyone. Then she realized something. If face cards are worth more and lower number cards are worth less, then she might be able to deduce what cards the dealer has based off of what cards he deals from the deck. 

So if there are lots of tens and face cards left, that's good for her 

4 and 6 in front of her

"Hit me." Muscle boy says beside her. He's given a queen, doesn't matter much, he had pretty low cards to begin with so that only brings him up to a 14

The brawler that had lost earlier groans, "aw c'mon Balthus. You took my queen, can't ya let someone else win for once?"

_ A queen. There's lots of them, _ she thinks to herself. "Hit" she says

A queen that brings her to twenty, the highest of the table. The dealer flips his cards, a queen and a 4. He draws his final card, a queen, and then he busts. She wins.

And she keeps winning. Muscle boy, Balthus she thinks is what they called him, grumbles to himself bitterly as Byleth slowly starts to win all of his coin. 

Finally he slams a meaty fist on to the table as he shouts,"Alright I know you're fucking cheating! Which one of these guys put you up to this!? Did y'all think sending in a pretty face could throw me off my game!?" 

He reaches for the coin in front of Byleth and out of instinct she pulls her dagger to stab at his hand. She misses and curses to herself as Balthus grabs her wrist.

"Listen pal, you really don't want to be doing that." He warns but she brushes him off with a swift jab to the nose. He doubles over from the pain and Byleth takes the opportunity to climb atop his back and we her legs around his neck in an attempt to restrain him in a choke hold.

The young man is resilient though, his fingers clawing at Byleth's thighs, trying to get her off. Her only response is to squeeze tighter as she continues to try to crush the man's windpipe with her legs alone.

"Get off me, you crazy bitch!" He shouts as he slams back into a nearby wall, in attempt to injure the woman latched on to him in the process.

Byleth can hear the crowd forming, new voices call out,

"Balthus, what's the meaning of this? Are you dead set on destroying the inn?"

"B, what the hell did you do to her to make her this mad?"

Was she mad? She didn't think she was. She merely reacted and tried to restrain him.  _ He _ was the mad one. Still she can feel this feeling in the pit of her stomach driving her and telling her to do what she must to stay alive. Maybe it was less that she looked mad and more that her actions looked feral.

Whilst lost in her thoughts, Balthus is finally able to throw her off, making her body skid across the bar floor as she crashes into tables and chairs.

She picks herself up off the floor and draws her iron blade. She is quickly stopped as a blade is suddenly pointed at her. It's wielder wears a similar uniform to that of Balthus, except that they actually wear their clothes correct, so it covers their chest. Their slim, standing probably only a few inches above her but their face… Even Byleth would have to describe it as striking. Everything about them looks sharp, from their pointed chin to their piercing lavender eyes with lids painted and lips glossed. All in all, he was just really pretty. So much so that one could almost find themselves distracted from the pretty face alone. Almost.

Byleth parries the blade. Iron clashes against iron as their swords cross.  _ He has excellent technique, _ she notes as he takes a stab at her. She expertly dodges, cartwheeling away from him. The pretty boy looks shocked, and Byleth takes this opportunity to strike and disarm her opponent.

His blade scatters across the floor but oddly enough, the young man doesn't look worried at all, he actually smirks and casually raises his hands up in defense in response to her actions. "Balthus, mind telling me how you and your cute friend met?" He calls over his shoulder to his friend who is being tended to by a red head in a similar uniform to that of the boys. Byleth scrunches her nose up, 'cute'?

"She fucking cheating at cards!" Balthus shouts

"No." Byleth grits through her teeth. She didn't cheat, this fool is just angry that she won.

"Yeah you did! You were fucking counting cards weren't you!?" He snaps back.

The pretty boy looks at her and gives her a questioning look, as if to ask if this was true.

"I- I thought that… was how you played…" she mutters out

The pretty boy laughs heartily as he finally puts his hands down and returns to a relaxed stance. Byleth, unsure of whether this means the fight is over or not, lowers her sword. The crowd starts to disperse, realizing the show is over. "You really are adorable." The boy laughs, "whoever you are, it doesn't matter much to me. But I do advise getting out here before you get tangled up in trouble. Unless you've been sent here under someone's orders. In which case, I'll happily show you a good time." He wears a warm smile as he says it but Byleth can't ignore how the expression fails to meet his eyes.

Byleth is unsure whether or not it's the adrenaline from the fight that permits her to speak to this stranger where as she would usually clam up but, she manages to say, "I… got lost. And stumbled upon this place." Not a total lie, she did stumble upon the inn after all.

"Uh huh… I find the likelihood of you 'stumbling' into Abyss pretty suspect.

You can call me Yuri. You'll want to remember that, if you ever come down here again." He says as he turns to walk back to his friend. Was that it? Byleth doubted it, especially if the way his eyes were sizing her up early, had anything to say about it. Maybe he just didn't want to cause anymore damage to the inn?

She walked up to the table to retrieve her money so she could just leave. The underground was all well and good, and as much fun as it was to let off some steam after not even training for so long, she knew when she wasn't welcomed.

"Hey pal, what do you think you're doing?" She hears Balthus call out to her as she reaches for the coin. "I thought we went over this. That's my money, fair and square."

She shook her head. No, that was still her money. She emphasized her point by holding up a gold coin and pointing to herself. Was this guy asking to get his ass beat again?

"It's neither of yours." Yuri intervenes stepping between the two. "It'll go to the Innkeeper. Someone has to pay for the bar you two wrecked."

Byleth looked around. The place did look like more of a mess than when she first walked in. Pictures and momentos had fallen off the wall she and Balthus had crashed into, tables were in dire need of repair, especially after she was thrown on them. She guessed that she was partially to blame for the scene.

She sighs through her nose and shrugs her shoulders as she places the gold coin back on the table. Yuri smiles softly at the action. Balthus Huff's like a pouty child, "Okay, whatever. But you," Balthus says poking her with a meaty finger, "you owe me a rematch." Did he mean in blackjack?

"Balthus, when will you learn?" Yuri asks with a disingenuous chuckle, "You shouldn't pick fights you know you can't win. Our friend here is obviously quite skilled." He says winking at the mercenary. He frowns slightly when he's met with a blank stare but quickly recovers.

"What? No one can beat the King of Grappling!" The taller man laughed.

"Really B? 'Cause it looked like Chatterbox here, was really giving you a run for your money when we came in" the girl with the red hair said, gesturing to Byleth. 'Chatterbox'? How ironic of a nickname.

She listens as the self proclaimed king of grappling rattles on to the girl about how Byleth had caught him once he was already a few sheets to the wind, while the girl rolls her eyes and peppers in a quip here and there in the conversation. But Byleth's cobalt eyes always find their way back to the pretty boy, Yuri, who seems to be eyeing her as well, sizing her up, trying to decipher her as if she was some sort of riddle. All whilst Byleth wondered when the next time she would get the chance to come back to Abyss would be. She had to admit, it was a little fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry the chapter took a little while, I do hope you enjoyed it though.  
> If you'd like, come join my discord. I swear we're all chill lol  
> https://discord.gg/8XjKn5m


	4. Great Tree Moon (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even seeing her here now, she still didn't look like a real person. More like a doll made of porcelain, posed to hold the fishing pole in her delicate grasp while dressed in whatever garment was chosen for her today.

**"Are you done yet?"**

_ No _

**"... Are you finished now?"**

_ No _

**".....................Are you done yet?"**

_ Sothis. Does it look like I am done?,  _ Byleth thinks to the bratty imp as she carries yet another log towards the direction of the stables.

**"Now you musn't get all huffy with me now. You're the one who accepted the request on your day of rest."**

Well, what was she supposed to do when Seteth cornered her outside of her room once she woke up and practically guilted her into helping the young servant boy, Cyril with restocking the monastery 's lumber. As much as the boy would protest, Byleth knew that it was quite a lofty task to do alone. So it wasn't like she could refuse. The part that had really, well for a lack of a better word, pissed her off, was that Seteth insisted that she do the chore in her servant attire. How did anyone expect her to get any hard labor done in this big stupid poofy dress? 

She huffed as she set the logs into the large pile. At this point it was almost lunch already and students and knights alike would be filing into the dining hall to scarf down whatever is on the menu today. Her stomach begins to grumble at the thought.

"Ya know, if you're hungry you can go eat. We're 'bout done anyway and I really don't need the help." Cyril says as he heaves some more logs into the pile. That's probably the fifth time he has suggested that Byleth leave all the work to him this morning.

But much to both Sothis' and her stomach's chargin, the former mercenary just shakes her head and ruffles the boy's hair, just as she has every other time that he had asked. She figured that working together, they could finish before lunch was over.

\-----

**"You are covered in sap!"** Sothis exclaimed in disgust as Byleth reached her quarters to change out of the dirty maid's uniform. It wasn't just sap. The grime on the young woman consisted of dirt, leaves and yes, sap. As she pulled out her usual mercenary garb the floating imp scoffs  **"Oh no. You are not wearing that. It's just as dirt ridden as your uniform. I know that the Archbishop's advisor had provided you other articles of clothing, why not wear one of those?"** It's true, the outfit was bloodstained and covered in dirt. Perhaps it was time to do some laundry.

Byleth sighs as she stares at the other outfits she had shoved in the back of her dresser. Aside from her work uniform that she was provided once accepting her position of servitude at the monastery, she was also given a variety of academy uniforms as well. Apparently they were some of the only garments in her size as well as being hand-me-downs from previous alumnis.

**"Choose the Summer Uniform. You dress in black enough of the time."** ,Sothis comments. Byleth rolls her eyes in response, despite leaning towards the tan outfit anyways. It was simple, unlike the long skirt of the academy's winter uniform it seemed less restrictive, like something she could fight in. Plus this one at least had a scabbard she could keep her sword in.

**"That is truly the only thing you think about, isn't it?"** Sothis sighs, shaking her head.

________

Linhardt von Hevring wouldn't say he had expectations for the Officers Academy when he had first enrolled. But he was hopeful, how couldn't he be, at the prospect of going to a school that was not only heavily embedded in Fodlan's history but would also house numerous nobles who bore major and minor crests of all sorts. Yet even faced with the prospect of being near so many crest bearers that were practically waiting to be studied, being a classmate of the very next imperial Emperor herself, and living in such close proximity to what some would say was one of the largest libraries north of Gronder, his oldest enemy, Disinterest, seemed relentless when it reared its ugly head to make the young blue eyed boy tired of the whole endeavor.

Edelgard, though his imperial princess, was really nothing but a nag. She obviously couldn't see the merit in his fondness for naps and insisted on lecturing him every time he slept through an actual lecture. Even the pressure from his professors to study white magic and crests made him worry that he would soon find even his own interests tedious and a hassle.

Was it too much to ask for a peaceful moment where he could just relax under a tree or near the pond and nap all these worries away? He finds himself pondering this tiresome question as he makes his way to the dock, a fishing pole hung over his shoulder. There was nothing like the month of the Great Tree Moon, the weather was just perfect for napping out by the pond. 

He sighs contently as he nears the small body of water but stops short when he sees the small wooden dock already occupied. It seems that two female students have taken the prime fishing spot just before he could. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, the young boys cobalt eyes scan the outskirts of the pond before they flicker back towards the students. Except, they weren't even students at all.

The shorter girl jumped up and down clapping her hands in glee as her companion reeled in a sizable catch. Her bright green curled locks bounced up and down along with her as she cheered. The young noble immediately recognized her as Flayn, the assistant to the Archbishop Seteth's little sister. Next to her with dark blue choppy hair was her companion, someone Linhardt barely recognized without her servant's attire. It was the same woman from the library.

The green haired man had to admit that there was something different about the maid. Something almost interesting. She wasn't a noble but she didn't hold herself like a commoner either. In fact it was as if she wasn't even human. Even when she had asked him for his help he couldn't spot any real hint of emotion on her face, it was so unsettling. Her cold stare and the way she seemed so intent on just carrying out her task sort of made her seem like just a well put together flesh golem. 

Even seeing her here now, she still didn't look like a real person. More like a doll made of porcelain, posed to hold the fishing pole in her delicate grasp while dressed in whatever garment was chosen for her today.

"Oh! Why, hello there. Are you here to fish as well?" A voice interrupts him from his thoughts. It was far too high and sing-songy to be that of the servant woman's. His eyes shoot up towards the direction of Flayn.

"Oh don't let me interrupt. I see that you are having a much more productive time fishing than I would." He says with a lazy smile. The woman fishing turns around at the sound of his voice. Whether or not she was surprised by his presence or not, he couldn't really tell but the way her eyes lingered on him made him uncomfortable in a way that no lecture from neglecting his noble duties ever did, "B-byleth, right?" He asks under the intensity of her gaze.

She nods before taking a moment to herself as if she was mulling over her next words, "... Linhardt?" She replies, her voice so even that he almost didn't catch the hesitance in her words. He nods in return to reassure her of her answer.

"Oh! So Byleth is your name is it not? Truly such a mysterious name for such a mysterious person." Flayn exclaimed

Linhardt chuckled as he found himself plopping down on the dock beside Byleth. If he couldn't enjoy the solitude of fishing, maybe he could at least use the company of the two women as an excuse to rest. Byleth seemed fairly quiet and he was able to naps around much rowdier company. Mainly Caspar. "Do you mean to tell me that you spent all this time with our friend here and never even asked her name?"

The small mint haired girl sputtered for a moment before recovering, "Well I- well it just never came up in conversation. We had only just met in the dining hall and - and I was just assisting by offering some bait for her to fish and-" Flayn huffed

"It's…Okay… I should have introduced myself." He hears Byleth mutter. Her voice is rough and quiet as though she doesn't use it enough just as it was when they first met. But the small gesture of speech is enough to placet the green haired girl who's face contorted back into a smile as she went back to watching the older girl continue to fish.

It seemed as if the flesh golem had returned once more as the woman began to fish with a quiet ferocity unlike anything Linhardt had ever seen. Even while doing something so mundane, she did it with such purpose. Her dark blue eyes searched the depths of the pond, ignoring the small light tugs of the fishing line of her pole as if she was waiting for something else, something better.

Linhardt's eyes began to feel oh so heavy as the cool Great Tree Moon air hit his face and only the sound of the distant chatter from both the dining hall and market quietly lulled him to sleep.

  
  


.

  
  


"Oh this one seems like a rather large one indeed!", The exclamation of Flayn's voice shocking Linhardt out of his slumber, and causing him to shoot up. He's greeted with the sight of Byleth fighting with the pole, her eyes gleaming with determination with every tug she gave as the large fish beneath the water fought her.

She gives one final pull and pond water splashes upon the dock as a large Herring is finally reeled in. Linhardt winces as the cool water splashes on his face.

Flayn is busy clapping in glee once more as the blue haired woman tosses the fish in the bucket which she picks up and begins walking towards the dining hall with. She stops mid step and stays frozen in time for a moment before her shoulders slump and she turns on her heels to start walking back towards Linhardt. His cobalt blue eyes widen as she crouches down and holds her hand out in his direction as if offering to help him up from his lying position.

"... Erm… H-have you eaten yet?" She breathes out her brows knitting up in frustration ever so slightly and yet her cold eyes never betraying cool demeanor.

Linhardt had in fact, not eaten yet. He had slept in for quite some time and once awakening he had figured that it was quite likely that all his favorite meals had already been taken. So instead of wasting his time and going to check the mess hall, he instead grabbed his fishing pole and made his way towards the pond for a nice nap outside.

He grabs Byleth's hand as she lifts him to his feet. He thinks back to the fish in her tin bucket. Herring does sound pretty tasty right about now.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


___

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Claude von Reigan 's emerald eyes flickered with excitement as he spotted the choppy blue hair of the mercenary that had saved the lives of him and his fellow house leaders not too long ago. For a time, he had thought that he may have never been able to see her again. She was rather elusive, to the point where he began to wonder if she had even chosen to stay here at the monastery or not. If not for having seen her father the Blade Breaker around with the rest of the Knights of Seiros, he would've believed that the whole getting attacked by bandits near Remire village fiasco was just a bad dream. 

And yet, here she was. Sitting at a table in the dining hall shoveling fruit and Herring tart down her gullet. The blue haired mercenary sat across from another student from the officers academy and who he believed to be lady Rhea's advisor's little sister. Odd, the mercenary herself also seemed to be dressed in a student's uniform. Was she in one of the other houses? Had the princess or princeling already gotten to her?

Claude slinks towards the table with a charming smile plastered on his face. It didn't matter, even if the black eagles or blue lions had scooped her up before he could, that didn't mean he couldn't still away her to the side of the alliance. Someone as strong and tactical as her could prove useful when it came to his goals. And neither of their highnesses could come between him and his goals.

Speaking of the devil, piercing lavender eyes glare daggers into the future duke as Edelgard rises from her table. Claude's smile quirks up into a smirk as he sees the princess start to make her own way to the mercenary's table. She must have spotted Claude doing the same. Claude quickened his pace to get to the table first but upon doing so, the Imperial princess does so as well.

  
  


"Oh! It's you. I was wondering if we would ever get the chance to meet again." Claude and Edelgard both wince as they hear the greeting fall from the prince's mouth. Dimitri managed to beat them both there but it seems as though the princeling's victory was out of pure coincidence being that he seems more shocked to see the woman than she is to see him.

"Well well well, your highness I see you're already chatting up our old friend here." Claude teases as he finally reached the table

"Don't act as though that wasn't your intention as well, Claude. I saw you making your way over here." Edelgard retorts soon after her own arrival.

"And don't think I didn't see you making a beeline over here too Princess."Claude bites back playfully as he curses her in his head. Edelgard was smart, in and out of combat and though she may not be half the tactician that Claude fancied himself, he knew she was smart enough to try to get this strong stranger on her side.

"What- I-?" Dimitri balks as the other two house leaders bicker, sending snide comments back and forth. The blonde shakes his head and tries his best to turn his attention back to the taciturn woman who stuffs another bite of her meal into her mouth. "Please, forgive these two. I cannot speak for them but I assure you that I only want to thank you once again for your assistance back in Remire Village."

"Oh, Prince Dimitri. I didn't know that you knew Byleth as well." Flayn says cheerily

"Oh yes, and forgive me, Hello Flayn." Dimitri said with a small now towards the small woman before turning to the green haired boy who watched the house leader with tired quizzical eyes. "And hello-"

"Linhardt." The student finished for him. He must be in the Black Eagles house since neither Dimitri or Claude knew him, Claude reasoned. Though this was only the beginning of the school year and no one was all that well acquainted with those outside their own house quite yet, Claude had done his research on the nobles of Fodlan and if this 'Linhardt' was from the Addrestian Empire as in Linhardt von Hevring eldest son to Count Hevring, Minister of Domestic Affairs. Claude's faux smile managed to waver for a second. Why Edelgard, she may be more of a schemer than the young duke originally thought.

"Really Princess? Sending a lackey to recruit for you? I expected more from you." The future duke whispered to Edelgard.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She hissed back before interjecting herself back into the battle for the mercenary's allegiance. "It is quite nice to see you again as well. I haven't seen you since we arrived back at the monastery. But I can only suppose that it's the Knights of Seiros keeping you so busy." Edelgard offers Byleth.

"The knights?" Linhardt mutters his brows slightly knitting up in confusion.

"Oh of course the knights!" Dimitri exclaimed, "Of Course the Church would have enlisted the services of someone with battle prowess such as you."

"I didn't know you were one of the knights" Flayn gasps.

Byleth is as silent as always as she finishes the last of her meal.

"Of course if you ever find yourself tiring of the knights, know that we in the empire would be honored to have someone like you." The white haired house leader told her.

"Wow Edelgard, real subtle."Claude remarks, "But honestly, the same could be said for the alliance my friend." He finishes with a wink.

The three of the house leaders begin to bicker once more as Byleth looks down at her empty plate. Claude wonders if all this is making her uncomfortable, getting a good read on her body language and expressions is hard but he assumes her silence alone could speak volumes. She rises from her seat and gives a nod to both Flayn and Linhardt before taking her leave.

Claude notices how Von Hevring's eyes flicker from the arguing house leaders to Byleth's retreating form, with a calculating look. It's almost as if he's trying to decide something. Then he mutters, "Interesting…" before taking his own leave and briskly walking off in the direction that the mercenary left in.

Claude agreed, very interesting indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than I expected but I am content with how it turned out, I really hope you liked it  
> If you enjoy my work and want to be notified when I post new works or just chat and hang out, come join my discord. It's p chill and wholesome 😊  
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**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ❤️ this is my first fire emblem fic so I hope you like it  
> If you want you can join my discord  
> https://discord.gg/8XjKn5m


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